Saint John's baseball plays host to Concordia-Moorhead for a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader on Monday, April 28, at Haugen Field at Becker Park. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (21-13, 11-5 MIAC) celebrated Jerry Haugen Day with a sweep of Augsburg, 2-0 and 13-3 in eight innings, yesterday (April 26) in Collegeville.

SJU batted .391 (25-for-64) with seven extra-base hits (six doubles and a home run) on the day, while three Johnnie pitchers combined to hold the Auggies to a .228 average (13-for-57). The visitors went 3-for-28 (.107) with runners on base and 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the doubleheader.

Junior shortstop Reed Marquardt (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) went 6-for-8 with five runs scored, a double and two RBI from the leadoff spot. 

Senior third baseman Joe Becker (New Prague, Minn.) went 5-for-8 with five RBI and three runs scored. He ended game two with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to induce the 10-run rule. The long ball was his 12th of the season, matching his total from 2024 and is one from the program record set by former teammate Ethan Roe '22 in 2021, and the 33rd of his career.

Game 1 – at Saint John's 2, Augsburg 0
Sophomore Carter Theisen (Rosemount, Minn.) pitched the complete-game, seven-inning shutout for his fifth win of the season (5-2 record). He threw 76 pitches (48 strikes) and allowed four hits in a game that lasted 1:19. One of the hits allowed was a double that was lost in the sun.

The Johnnies loaded the bases with three free passes with one out in the bottom of the first inning. Becker was hit by the first pitch of his at-bat and senior first baseman Owen Best (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit) was plunked by his third before sophomore left fielder Alex Matchey (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) walked. Junior right fielder Brendan Hemr (Blaine, Minn./Centennial) lifted a sacrifice fly in the ensuing at-bat to plate what proved to be the game-winning run.

Marquardt started the bottom of the third inning with a single and scored when Becker roped a double down the left-field line (but was thrown out at third attempting to stretch the hit into a triple).

Game 2 – at Saint John's 13, Augsburg 3 (8 inn.)
Augsburg jumped out to a 3-0 lead, thanks to two unearned runs, in the top of the first inning before SJU posted 13 unanswered runs.

Marquardt singled to start the bottom of the first, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Becker. 

SJU added two unearned runs of its own in the second inning. Sophomore designated hitter Zach Helfmann (St. Louis Park, Minn.) reached on a fielding error and the Johnnies loaded the bases following bunt singles from senior second baseman Ryan Janzen (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) and junior center fielder Owen Amrhein (Waconia, Minn.). A double play brought in a run and Marquardt tied the game at 3-3 with a double down the left-field line.

Best led off the bottom of the third with a ground-rule double to left and eventually scored on an infield single from Janzen.

The Johnnies broke open the lead with a four-run fourth inning, sparked by a bases-clearing double by Hemr, and tacked on an unearned run in the sixth. 

An RBI single from Matchey made it 10-3 in the seventh inning and Marquardt drove in another run in the eighth inning before Becker's blast.

Sophomore Hunter Hoen (Belle Plaine, Minn.) improved to 3-0 with the win after he allowed the three runs (one earned) on six hits in five innings.

Freshman Drew Lange (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) gave up three hits in three scoreless innings of relief for his first collegiate save.

Becker and Marquardt combined to go 8-for-11 with six runs scored and six RBI in game two. Amrhein, Janzen and Matchey collected three hits apiece.

STAT COMPARISONS
Batting Average
4. SJU, .311 (.312 overall)
7. CC, .292 (.287 overall)

Slugging Percentage
2. SJU, .470 (.478 overall)
6. CC, .389 (.395 overall)

ERA
4. SJU, 4.58 (4.90 overall)
7. CC, 5.49 (5.41 overall)

Opponent Batting Average
4. SJU, .261 (.266 overall)
7. CC, .286 (.287 overall)

Fielding Percentage
7. SJU, .968 (.959 overall)
8. CC, .966 (.961 overall)

A LOOK AT THE COBBERS: Concordia (18-17, 9-9 MIAC) split with Carleton yesterday (April 26) in Northfield. The Cobbers dropped the opener with a 5-2 score, in which four of the five runs allowed were unearned, and bounced back with a 12-1 win in seven innings. Thomas Horan leads CC in batting (.350), hits (41), doubles (12), triples (2), RBI (35) and stolen bases (12). Alex Rudquist is the lone Cobber with more than three starts on the mound this spring and is 2-2 with a 4.34 ERA and .248 opponent batting average in 29.0 innings.

LAST SEASON: The Johnnies and Cobbers split their regular-season series for the second-straight year last April 23 (2024) in Moorhead. SJU tallied a pair of five-run innings in a 14-7 win in game one. The visitors batted 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position and 5-for-11 with two outs in the victory.

SJU hit four home runs in game two but gave up a six-run third inning in a 9-6 loss in the nightcap. The specialty stats slowed to a 2-for-10 showing with runners in scoring position and 1-for-9 with two outs. 

Marquardt led SJU with a 5-for-7 performance at the plate with three doubles, four runs scored and two RBI. Five different Johnnies homered in the twin bill.

Game 1 – Saint John's 14, at Concordia 7
Left fielder Jack Schleper '24 started the scoring for SJU with a solo home run, his third of the season and 14th of his career, with one out in the top of the second inning.

A hit batsmen and three walks tied the game at 1-1 for Concordia in the bottom of the second inning before SJU exploded for five runs in the top of the third. Senior catcher Blake Mellgren (Northfield, Minn.) walked to start the frame and scored on an RBI double from Marquardt. Right fielder Rodney Erickson '24 reached on an error, which moved Marquardt to third. Second baseman Owen Dauk '23 walked and Marquardt scored on the wild ball four. Both baserunners advanced a base on a failed pickoff attempt before Becker roped a two-run double down the left-field line for a 5-1 lead. Becker gained third base on a wild pitch and scored the inning's fifth run on a sacrifice fly from Schleper.

A leadoff double and two walks in the bottom of the fifth inning ended Griffin Larson's '24 day before David Dorsey hit a 1-0 pitch from Quinn Krueger '24 over the right-field fence for a grand slam to cut CC's deficit to 6-5. Dorsey hit three home runs in the doubleheader.

The Johnnies, however, answered with six runs in the top of the sixth. First baseman Jackson Peter walked to start the inning and advanced to third on a double from Mellgren. Marquardt stroked an RBI single to right field on his second pitch from the new Cobber reliever and Mellgren scored when the catcher dropped the ball at the plate on a fielder's choice off the bat of Erickson. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and Dauk walked to load the bases before Becker followed with a sac fly. Schleper and Best made it 11-5 with back-to-back RBI singles with two outs.

Two Concordia hits that combined to travel 10 feet came around to score on a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth inning against Kody Dalen '24, but the Johnnies responded once again with three more runs in the top of the seventh. Marquardt doubled with one out and Erickson followed with a single. Dauk plated Marquardt on an RBI groundout before Becker and Schleper tallied RBI singles.

Larson moved his season record to 5-0 with the win, allowing four runs on two hits in 4.1 innings. He struck out three and walked five.

Marquardt finished 3-for-3 with three runs scored, two doubles and two RBI, while Becker (2-for-4) and Schleper (3-for-4) drove in four runs each.

Game 2 - at Concordia 9, Saint John's 6
Like Schleper in game one, Dauk gave SJU a quick 1-0 lead with a solo shot, his fifth home run of the season and 16th of his career, in the first inning. The lead was short-lived, however, as Dorsey hit his second home run of the day – this time a two-run blast – in the bottom half of the inning.

Designated hitter Andrew Mahlke '24 tied the game for SJU with his first collegiate home run in the top of the second inning.

Marquardt started the third with his third double of the day but did not score, which served as an omen for the bottom half of the inning when CC scored five runs without an out and added another for an 8-2 lead.

The Johnnies started the fourth inning in a similar fashion to the third, in that Schleper led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Peter then smacked a two-run homer, his fourth of the season and seventh as a Johnnie, with one out to cut the deficit to 8-4.

Erickson led off the fifth inning with a solo blast down the left-field line for his third homer of the season and ninth of his career, and Becker cut CC's lead to 8-6 with a two-out, RBI single in the seventh.

Mahlke doubled with one out in the eighth inning but the Johnnies struck out in the next two at-bats. Dorsey, meanwhile, gave the Cobbers some insurance with a two-out, solo homer to end the game's scoring in the bottom half.

Wyatt Rudolf '24 took the loss, allowing eight runs on seven hits in two innings. Senior Will Fazio (Minneapolis, Minn./Blake) pitched a dazzling six innings in relief. The lone blemish was the solo homer with two outs in the eighth. He struck out five and surrendered four hits.

Erickson (4-for-10) and Schleper (4-for-8) totaled four hits apiece. Erickson scored four runs, while Schleper posted four RBI and extended his hit streak to 14 games. Becker led the team with five RBI.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU leads the series with a 41-37 record against Concordia since 1987, but is just 19-20 during that span in Collegeville. The Johnnies have won 11 of the last 14 meetings overall.